NYC's Doughnut Plant Should Be the First Stop on Your Donut-Eating Itinerary

Have you ever eaten a donut so moist that one bite nearly made it melt apart? We have, but only yesterday during a stop by the famous NYC Lower East Side bakery Doughnut Plant, where we bought the four beauties pictured above. Doughnut Plant is one of those places that are consistently featured on Food Network and travel TV shows like "The Best Donut Shops of the US" or "Comfort Food, Re-imagined." With such hyper, we figured we should go check them out while their fresh strawberry donut was in season, and now we understand all the love.

The shop is famous for its extremely limited-edition donuts, like a rose-flavored one that only appears on Mother's Day and Valentine's Day, an edible shamrock donut on St. Patrick's Day> and a ginger one for Chinese New Year. But go there any day and order the Tres Leches donut, the most unassuming of the bunch above, and you'll forget about all the others.

When you go, be sure to have just hit the ATM, because these donuts are no cheap things; expect to pay between $2-3 per donut, and the smallest creme brulee one is among the $3 options. The four donuts above cost us $9.50; this is why it's a special occasion spot.

The single shop at 379 Grand near Essex Street is small enough only for a counter and some windowsill seating, but the company will expand this spring to a second location at The Chelsea Hotel, even though you can find a few of their donuts daily at other stores like Bloomingdale's. And now you know what we're doing on Mother's Day...mmm rose donuts.